Day 4. Trail Magic!

Mile 42 – Stealth To Mile 58 – East Rim Viewpoint

We woke up this morning to frost on our tents — a reminder that fall is already here and colder weather is coming. Rocket wasn’t feeling great so we scaled back our goal and decided to just enjoy whatever miles we could do. Along the way we met Aspen, a BLM ranger from a different region in AZ. He had thru-hiked the AZT a few years ago and was just out for a run on the trail enjoying the fall colors.

We talked for a long time about previous hiking we had all done and about the AZT. He shared lots of information that will be invaluable to us over the next few weeks. We might not have even stopped to chat if not for already deciding to have a slow day!

Toward evening we reached the Grand Canyon East Rim Viewpoint and decided to call it a day. As we were setting up our tents, Aspen appeared! In our conversation earlier in the day we had mentioned that we did not stop at the inn nearby that serves amazing cookies. He decided that was essential for the full trail experience so he picked some up and brought them to us. So amazing. Thank you Aspen!